Romance, relationships and dating has significantly changed in the past few decades. The evolution of Social media and technology is shifting societal norms resulting in a dissonance of morals in dating today vs. dating in the past. 20 years ago there was no social media and very little influence from the internet, making it seemingly easier to sustain a relationship.
Easy to use applications at the touch of your fingertips such as, tinder, twitter, Facebook and Instagram are great ways to communicate with friends and network but unfortunately, also have the ability to make and break relationships.
A recent study by the Pew Research Centre showed that around 91 percent of Canadians between the ages of 18-29 actively use the internet, 70 percent are actively using social media, 89 percent go online to check notifications every day and over half own smart phones that can access these sites and applications. The 2016 study shows a 5% increase of users and activated accounts from last year’s census in 2015.
But how does this affect the quality of relationships? Trust can be lost easily, jealousy takes over and things that would never have been considered disloyal 20 years ago are. A simple double tap on someone’s photo, a “sub-tweet” about someone, following someone or even having specific apps c
n stir up fights, create unnecessary drama and make someone feel insignificant to their partner.
The unrealistic expectations in today’s society regarding emotional and physical image play a huge part in the feelings some might have toward social media and relationships. When posting online people tend to show the best version of them for others to see. They want to come off appealing.
With the influence of celebrities, parody accounts and the constant posts from people you may know, it is easy to assume things about people’s lives that aren’t true and set unrealistic aspirations for yourself and your relationship.
Young people are constantly connected to the world even when alone and most people don’t go anywhere without their phones. In the past, everything was for the most part face to face and couples weren’t faced with the petty problems that arise from social media. Before smart phones and social media there were no distractions by technology and when you weren’t around people you didn’t have the technology to constantly be communicating with others via internet.
In this age technology is a blessing and a curse. The constant connection to the world without barriers can create difficulties in maintaining a healthy relationship with your partner and yourself. It is important to maintain a realistic mind set about your relationship and respect your partner.